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TECH NEWS

Free Headwind app provides visualisation of wind conditions and ride difficulty rating

The free app aims to help cycle commuters plan their rides

Here's a nifty little app that we've been playing around with this morning. Headwind uses Dark Sky hyperlocal weather data to give colour visualisation and difficulty rating on Strava rides and routes.

For those of us riding to an office a few times per week, it can be rather annoying to find a block headwind to slog into on a day that we’d chosen for riding in. Some go as far as planning their trips into the office around the weather and if you’re in this club, then this new app could be perfect for you.

Headwind is a web-based app that syncs with your Strava account, providing a visual representation of the wind conditions on previous rides as well as over the coming seven days. Headwind hopes that this will allow you to plan the easiest days for riding to work.

This isn't the first app/website that we've seen doing wind visualisation for cyclists. MyWindsock does something similar, though the two apps cater to different crowds. MyWindsock is also a paid-for app with an annual subscription of £19.99 whereas Headwind is, for now, free.

We've got a list of 28 of the best cycling apps
Headwind App 3

Seeing as the office is currently closed, I created a theoretical commute to have a go with the app. Above is the route, with some weather data. The key here is that I'd be riding the 32km into a strong block headwind. That's denoted by the bright pink colour, with only a slight respite in a crosswind (orange) towards the end of the ride.

Below, you can see the difficulty rating for the coming week. I think I'd pick Tuesday and Friday. These are marked as yellow (or favourable) wind days which in this instance is due to the low wind speed rather than the wind direction.

Headwind App 2

Headwind uses Dark Sky API for the weather data, taking “the latest weather information for the exact latitude and longitude of the start of your ride” and then translating wind speed and direction stats into both a colour-coded overlay of your route, along with a difficulty rating. The app then shows you a summary of your route for the week ahead, allowing you to pick the easiest days for riding to work.

The app's designer, Ed Fryed, is a cyclist and web developer based in Perth, Australia. He says that he created the app so that he "could choose the best days to commute to work every week as I only cycle in 3 days a week and the wind here in Perth is insane at times. It's against me in the morning and then conveniently changes to the complete opposite direction like clockwork for my ride home."

Cycling app of the week: ​Strava

Headwind says that this “makes it incredibly easy to quickly visualise how hard your ride will be and what sections of the ride will be a challenge.”

While you can create a route on Strava’s route builder, you don’t need to. The app allows you to ‘star’ your existing rides, for which you can then see the forecast data.

The app is currently free to use from headwindapp.com 

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15 comments

Avatar
eltonioni | 3 years ago
1 like

Rule 5. 

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mdavidford replied to eltonioni | 3 years ago
0 likes

eltonioni wrote:

Rule 5. 

"You don't waste good"?

I guess you're a fan of this app then?

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eltonioni replied to mdavidford | 3 years ago
1 like

Umm, no, Rule 5 is harden the F up.  1 Wind is just a thing that you were given legs to overcome.

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mdavidford replied to eltonioni | 3 years ago
0 likes

Not in the only rules that matter. But don't feel bad - rule 51 applies.

https://www.cbs.com/shows/ncis/photos/1003066/gibbs-rules-the-complete-list-from-ncis/27/

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chunky | 3 years ago
0 likes

Hey nice work. My lockdown route choice has basically been "ride into the wind".

I don't use Strava and prefer not to get too techy but I might give this a go when I really need to get somewhere.

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srchar | 3 years ago
1 like

There's also "KOM with the wind", which takes a slightly different approach - it alerts you when the wind forecast is in the optimum direction for your starred segments.

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Headwind | 3 years ago
2 likes

Sorry to everyone who got the 403 forbidden error earlier. I wasn't expecting so much traffic to the app and my dark sky api key maxed out. That issue should be fixed now.

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djpalmer32 replied to Headwind | 3 years ago
0 likes

Great idea. Though you may want to check the spelling of Celsius.

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doenamite | 3 years ago
1 like

It's a shame that this app will stop working in 2021 when Dark Sky pull the plug on their API. I assume they'll have to change weather providers if they want to keep going

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Headwind replied to doenamite | 3 years ago
1 like

Heya mate. Don't worry I'll just switch the weather API out to a different one before dark sky drop the API. Got till the end of 2021. Won't let that stop me.

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huntswheelers | 3 years ago
0 likes

I just upload a gpx of a route to Windy.com site simple and works out predicted wind for the weekend rides that we used to do....ugh....back soon hopefully....

https://www.windy.com/upload/5cefcb6e94ff5500194842cf?52.251,-0.068,11,i...

 

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Awavey replied to huntswheelers | 3 years ago
0 likes

but how accurate is it ? for instance Windy.com is claiming its only about 20mph wind speed,which if it were Id probably be out on my bike, but given the trees in my back garden have been near horizontal at times today,whilst local weather reports are forecasting gusts of upto 40-50mph, its a bit breezier out there than 20mph.

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PRSboy | 3 years ago
0 likes

Excellent- I have long wished someone would create an app like this!  Will give it a try.

For the terminally lazy, a facility to rate which of your starred routes would be easiest, given the prevailing or forecast wind conditions would also be handy.

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Headwind replied to PRSboy | 3 years ago
0 likes

Nice. I didn't think of that. Think I was too focussed on my own commute. I basically was doing the same route back and forth each day. Until this corona stuff hit anyway and I started working from home.

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MariaMartinez replied to Headwind | 3 years ago
0 likes

Hi Ed from Headwind, I am contacting you on behalf of fft.tips/youtube. Would you agree to go a skype interview about your awesome app? thank you! email info [at] fastfitness.tips

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